Charlie H 72 Posted July 28, 2021 Report Share Posted July 28, 2021 Hey all, I am interested in a one piece neck on my current build. Like, really one piece. Weird, I know. I have seen some builders that drill for their truss rods. Most notably weir guitars: https://www.weirguitars.com In their about section they say that they do it with a drill and a lathe?? Maybe they would respond well to an email-but otherwise, has anybody else done something similar? How did it go? thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted August 2, 2021 Report Share Posted August 2, 2021 I've not seen it done for a number of reasons....one is that there isn't any discernible advantage from making a neck in this fashion beyond uniqueness, gimmickry, etc. The second is that it's a technical challenge to drill a dead straight small bore through a piece of wood. One that doesn't appear to justify the end. Any wander and the truss rod will want to "act" in a direction different to that required. A straight truss rod can only act on a neck that is already bowing. It cannot dial anything "into" a flat neck with zero action, and will need to exert an excessively-large force to counteract any actual bow. I'd enjoy the technical challenge, because that's what I get the most out of. I fail to see the use beyond this though! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie H 72 Posted August 2, 2021 Author Report Share Posted August 2, 2021 (edited) Eh I will disagree with you on the no discernible advantage part-it would be beautiful! I don’t love skunk stripes and I don’t love a seam between neck and fretboard when the wood is the same species. I know I’m splitting hairs, but it’s still a curiosity. I get that drilling it would be excessively difficult-but that’s part of the fun, as you said Maybe a better solution would be to match the skunk stripe. Or go non-adjustable and just drill for a steel reinforcing tube… all to be explored. Definitely with a bolt on neck! Another strategy (compromise, really) would be to resaw the fretboard from the same plank of wood as the neck so the color and grain match as closely as possible. Edited August 2, 2021 by Charlie H 72 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted August 2, 2021 Report Share Posted August 2, 2021 Sure, sure. I definitely agree that cutting a slice off a blank, laying in a truss rod and glueing it back up is more or less the same thing when it comes down to it. The trick there is in the cleanliness and suitability of the mating surfaces, plus the correct adhesive and clamping pressure. Most people don't put enough pressure into clamping when glueing up, which often leads to the false idea that gluelines are always a thing....not true....they just need as much care and work as the rest of the job. The largest issue with drilling is deflection within the cut. If the diameter weren't so small and the length so large, I would think that a boring bar would be the way forward. Either that or a 6" diameter truss rod. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted August 2, 2021 Report Share Posted August 2, 2021 48 minutes ago, Charlie H 72 said: Another strategy (compromise, really) would be to resaw the fretboard from the same plank of wood as the neck so the color and grain match as closely as possible. A friend did that when he was prepping for the luthiery school on a course. The tutor persuaded him to add a contrasting veneer to substitute the saw dust lost at resawing. That really made it look better than a seam! Yet another option I've heard of having been done by G&L is to resaw the neck vertically about 5 mm off center and route a radiused truss rod channel on the thicker half. That might be even less visible as the frets would hide a bit of the front side seam and a V shaped neck would make the bottom side seam less visible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie H 72 Posted August 2, 2021 Author Report Share Posted August 2, 2021 30 minutes ago, Bizman62 said: A friend did that when he was prepping for the luthiery school on a course. The tutor persuaded him to add a contrasting veneer to substitute the saw dust lost at resawing. That really made it look better than a seam! Yet another option I've heard of having been done by G&L is to resaw the neck vertically about 5 mm off center and route a radiused truss rod channel on the thicker half. That might be even less visible as the frets would hide a bit of the front side seam and a V shaped neck would make the bottom side seam less visible. Hm-this is interesting and is definitely a road less traveled! I hadn’t heard of this kind of neck before. A little research shows that they are called bi-cut necks. But at the end of the day it seems to be almost the same as a fretboard fillet-just oriented differently. I think I’d prefer a fretboard seam to an off-center one. But it’s a fun idea. I’ll keep it in the back pocket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted August 2, 2021 Report Share Posted August 2, 2021 Very cool. I imagine a seam on the centre line would drive lots of people crazy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie H 72 Posted August 2, 2021 Author Report Share Posted August 2, 2021 39 minutes ago, Prostheta said: Sure, sure. I definitely agree that cutting a slice off a blank, laying in a truss rod and glueing it back up is more or less the same thing when it comes down to it. The trick there is in the cleanliness and suitability of the mating surfaces, plus the correct adhesive and clamping pressure. Most people don't put enough pressure into clamping when glueing up, which often leads to the false idea that gluelines are always a thing....not true....they just need as much care and work as the rest of the job. The largest issue with drilling is deflection within the cut. If the diameter weren't so small and the length so large, I would think that a boring bar would be the way forward. Either that or a 6" diameter truss rod. Yup. Maybe I need to practice my resawing and gluing. Hand tools might result in less loss of wood in the cutting/resurfacing process. I wonder if it would be possible to do progressively longer drill bits, so that each pass is supported by the previous few inches of drilling. 6” dia rod sounds good too-and why not just build a steel neck while we’re at it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted August 2, 2021 Report Share Posted August 2, 2021 3 minutes ago, Charlie H 72 said: Hand tools might result in less loss of wood in the cutting/resurfacing process. A well set up tool is the key, powered or hand driven. One band saw at the town workshop even have the cast iron table twisted and the other one isn't much better - apparently they're good enough for the town carpenters to build pretty large furniture and things like doors. The band saw behind the wall belonging to a woodworkers' society is of the same age - all from the 70's at the latest - but it's much better maintained. The ½" blade cuts long stretches of perfectly straight slices thin enough for headstock veneers without any effort. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie H 72 Posted August 2, 2021 Author Report Share Posted August 2, 2021 (edited) And a well set-up tool in a shared shop, I have learned, is hard to come by! It would have to be my own saw-which means hand saw I think. Some experimenting seems to be in order! A really crazy thought - SPLIT the wood with some nice sharp chisels instead of sawing it. there would have to be some real magic getting the truss rod level and to the right depth, but I think it could be done. I am tempted. It might make more sense with the bi-cut neck as there would be a smaller cross section to split and the business side of the truss rod would be well taken care-of. Hmm... tempting. Debatable if it would be any easier than the long drilling operation. But it could at least leave you with a channel that is the right shape. Edited August 2, 2021 by Charlie H 72 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie H 72 Posted August 2, 2021 Author Report Share Posted August 2, 2021 The more I think about it, the more I feel like I should just go no TR, put some backbow in the neck with the frets, and call it a day-with the knowledge that I’ll probably have to replace it someday-or drill into it and install a TR haha But that splitting idea was pretty cool somebody should totally do that.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted August 3, 2021 Report Share Posted August 3, 2021 See what happens, but always go with open eyes if it's both feet! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie H 72 Posted August 3, 2021 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2021 Wow-I love that saying! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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